Fiat will be using the Bologna Motor Show as
the launching pad for Blue&Me™ Map, latest
addition to the model’s array of high-tech
extras and third step in the evolution of
the Blue&Me platform.

Only a few
short months since the new Fiat 500 was put on the
market, Fiat Group Automobiles will be using the Bologna
Motor Show as the launching pad for Blue&Me™ Map, latest
addition to the model’s array of high-tech extras and
third step in the evolution of the Blue&Me platform,
hailed at the car’s debut as the world’s first system of
its kind designed from the start for seamless
integration with a portable navigator.

Customers who expressed interest in the system’s
portable navigation capabilities when the car first came
out will be able to order the new unit from the
beginning of December.

Developed together with Magneti Marelli to be a
factory-fitted system – though still able to operate
independently as a multifunction portable navigator –
Blue&Me™ Map has an original look designed especially
for the Fiat 500 by the Fiat Styling Center. In
addition, with its automotive specs, the unit is safe
and easy to use, thanks to the outstanding degree of
onboard integration it achieves, electrically and
mechanically as well as in terms of connectivity.

With its exclusive dashboard connection technology –
patented by Fiat Group Automobiles – Blue&Me™ Map opens
up a new frontier in the map-based personal navigation
market: easily reached by the driver, and a snap to
activate and deactivate, it redefines the whole concept
of user-friendliness. Thus, Blue&Me™ Map lets the
customer choose when, where and how to use it.

In the car, the system does away with all those
tangle-prone cords and wires, since the connection port
has its own power source. And since it’s integrated with
the Blue&Me™ in-car infotainment system, all major
functions are operated by means of the steering wheel
control buttons and voice recognition system. But far
and away the most interesting thing about the navigation
system is that it will guide you to your destination
through voice messages transmitted via Bluetooth® to the
car radio, which will be muted to ensure they’re heard,
loud and clear.

Pinpointing the car’s position during navigation is also
improved by the Blue&Me™ platform’s capabilities, since
the system uses its Bluetooth® connection to transmit
additional data about the car’s speed and course to the
navigator’s GPS receiver. This ensures more accurate
positioning in the places like tunnels and underpasses
with spotty GPs signal reception.

In addition to map-based satellite navigation, Blue&Me™
Map guarantees all of the standard Blue&Me™ functions:
handsfree operation, USB port, steering wheel control
buttons, voice recognition and SMS message reader. In
portable operation mode, it also provides a range of
multimedia functions, doubling as an MP3 player and
displaying photos and video.

Thanks to Blue&Me™ Map, all audio sources – radio, CD
player, cellphone and navigation system – can be managed
with ease, separately or together. And since this is a
field where flexibility is essential and the changes
come fast and furious, the new Fiat 500’s exclusive
connection port is designed for open integration with
anything that’s likely to emerge on the technological
scene in the near future.